His Purrfect Mate by Aliyah Burke Page A

sense?”
    “ Yes. In an odd way, it
does.” And it did. Sounded like he had lost who he truly was
somewhere along the way. “So what kind of man are you really,
Dane?”
    “ Quiet. Reserved. I love
building things. I play the piano. I love the wide open spaces
nature has.”
    She could feel the honest warm emotion when
he spoke of these things. The small smile on her face faltered when
she realized something. “Your family sees you differently?”

Chapter Six

    Dane stared down at the woman lying in his
arms and thought about her question. Yes, they saw him differently.
For a long time, people assumed he was one of the more easygoing of
all the Sidorov siblings. So not true. He’d become so guarded, even
his family wasn’t privy to the real him anymore, and when you’ve
been around as long as he had, some things, some mannerisms were
forgotten. And, part of the time, he felt they believed he should
be home more. Not away from Savoy.
    “ It has been so long since
I have truly been myself around them, I think they have forgotten.
They act as if I am fun, outgoing when in truth, I am the quietest
of us all.” He paused because for all he knew they could have
changed too. “Or at least I used to be.”
    Although since meeting
you, Aida, I smile so much more. Solnyshko
moyo .
    “ They love you, right?
Don’t you think they would still love the you you used to be?” She
burrowed closer. “I mean, surely they have to know that people
change, especially a man who does what you do, sees what you see.
Being faced with so much is bound to change a person.” Her tone was
fierce.
    You’re already protecting
me, Aida. He loved the notion. “Yes, they
love me, and I’m sure they would. Will it make you happy for me to
tell them I’m okay?”
    “ Family is very important,
Dane.”
    The mild reproach in her tone made him nod
while the pain in it made him wonder. “I’ll send word to them.”
Briefly, he opened a link to his siblings and told them he was
fine. Then he closed it off again, no further explanation given,
and reinforced his barriers. He tried to slip into Aida’s mind but
was again rebuffed instantly with a powerful force. If she noticed
his attempt, she made no mention of it.
    “ Now, tell me how I can
help you.”
    Promise me you’ll never
leave me. Dane sighed and closed his eyes.
Inside him, he was calm. Even his tiger had relaxed, curled up in a
ball, the beast, too, soothed by her presence. “I need to get to
the Northern Cape area. Roggeveld Mountains.”
    “ Okay. And once you’re
there, then what? It’s not like the area’s merely a mile wide.
That’s a big area. How will you find him?”
    “ I’ll find him,” he
rumbled, opening his eyes.
    Aida rose up and stared down at him with a
slight frown on her face. “You know, you can really be pretty
intimidating when you do that.”
    He gave a slight grin and touched the side
of her face. “You don’t seem scared.”
    “ I’m not,” she said
softly. “I probably should be, but I’m not.”
    “ You never have to be
scared of me, Aida. I swear I’ll never hurt you.”
    She gazed down at him, her eyes searching
his for something only she could see or find. “That may be true,
Dane Sidorov, but I think I could get hurt anyway.”
    He narrowed his eyes, instantly disliking
the implications that phrase could lead to. He had no intentions of
letting her go. “So being around me you could get hurt?”
    A small strained smile
filled her face, and she lay back down beside him. It will hurt when you leave me, Dane.
    His eyes flew open wide,
and he jerked his head toward her when her thoughts flowed through
his mind. He checked the guards he had in place and found them all
to be intact. Her tone had been just as warm as if she’d spoken to
him aloud. Unsure of how that had happened, he rested his cheek
against her hair. A subsequent prod back into her mind brought him
up short again. Interesting.
    He looked deeper and found another